Romantic Thriller: Only Time Will Tell – A Romantic Suspense and Romantic Mystery Book: (Thriller Romance, Suspense, Mystery Romance, Suspense Romance) (10 page)

Chapter Nineteen

He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby becomes a monster. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Running the DNA on the heart that had been delivered to Pierce’s house, Cara knew it was that of a woman. She also knew that the person was not yet dead when her heart had been carved out of her chest. Cara shuddered at the thought of the victim’s pain as this was being done. The people who carried out the act had to be utter beasts and not human beings. They needed to be stopped, one way or the other.

As she ran the search through her tissue database for anything that matched the victim, she heard a beep. That meant there was a match. The name Jeanine Groves flashed on the screen. She hurried to Pierce’s office to inform him.

“I have the results for the heart,” she told him. “The victim is one Jeanine Groves.”

“Are you fucking kidding me,” he said, as he stood up. “She was brought in for questioning less than six hours ago. How in the world would anyone know she was here much less find and kill her?”

“I tell you, there is a mole in this office and I’m not going to stop until I find out who it is. And why would they kill her?”

“Fear,” Cara said. “This means they feel threatened and are trying their utmost to throw you off their tracks by intimidating you. Don’t you see? They want you to stop investigating the case.”

“Yeah? Well, I will not be intimidated, and I will get them if it is the last thing I do. I’m more determined than ever to do so now.”

“Calm down, Pierce. You need to think about where they might have actually stashed the body.”

“We sent a unit to her house and they found nothing.”

“Well, do you think they were going to make it obvious so you would find it easily? I think you have a house you might need to go rip apart inch by inch, brick by brick.”

“I think I do,” he said, getting up.

“Is there anything you need me to do,” Cara asked as Pierce began to walk away.

“Stay out of trouble and continue looking for clues.”

He was glad that his wife and kids had gone to Fort Huachuca to visit her brother on the base where at least they would be safe for the time being. The heart in the box had really shaken Emma up. He had never seen her looking so scared.

Then it occurred to him that he needed to alert Chelsea of what was happening since she was not at work and had no way of knowing what was going on. He dialed her number.

“Madden,” she answered after only two rings. She was always quick to answer, almost as if she was always expecting to be called.

“Hey, I was just calling to see how you are doing.”

“I am doing perfectly fine. What about you? You sound as if something is wrong.”

“I would be lying if I said everything was okay. Listen you should find a safe place to go. There are a few things that are going on and I am not sure what is going to happen next.”

“I suppose I can do that. Do you want to tell me what is going on?”

“Not right now. I will tell you later. In the meantime, I think it would be best if you disappeared for a while. I will call and update you later.”

There was a brief pause, then she said, “All right. Just be safe with whatever is going on.”

“I will.” He hung up.

He felt a headache coming on probably because of the stress of trying to figure out too many things. Every time the situation looked under control, something else came along and threw a spanner in the works. Now he had to deploy men to try and find Jeanine’s body. The unit that went to her home reported that their checks revealed that she had not made it home after her questioning at the police station. That meant she had to be snatched from somewhere else after leaving the police station.

He decided to find more about Jeanine by looking her up on the social media pages. He found out that she was not a very private person. There was an endless array of pictures of her and friends mostly partying. Many of them had some kind of a police record, with quite a few having done time. As he went through her posts, he saw a picture of her in a dark alley. He could see the train tracks behind her and several buildings in a rundown area. The picture was definitely taken on the south side of town where many of the buildings were abandoned.

He knew it would be wise to take a look in that area, but he would have to get the cops in that sector involved as well. He would also be out of his jurisdiction. He decided to involve only a handful of cops to maintain the secrecy of the case partly because he also wanted to facilitate Chelsea’s planned action.

He had mixed feelings about Chelsea’s plan, but did not want to stand in her way. She was out to get her parents’ killers who were still walking free and committing more murders every day. The police system had failed to give her justice. Now she had decided to take things in her own hands. If he did not know the perpetrator and his ghastly deeds, maybe he would have felt differently. Furthermore, De Leon was supposedly already dead, so if Chelsea killed him it would be as if the killing never happened.

The cop in him struggled with this line of thinking, but for him the last piece of resistance was swept away when he looked at Jeanine’s heart and heard Cara say it was taken from her while she was still alive. De Leon was not human, he was a monster. He had been responsible for the deaths of many persons, including his own son and his girlfriend, and now Jeanine.

Pierce was expected to go by the book and do things the right way, but was there truly one right way to do anything? To put an end to someone who had inflicted so much pain on others did not seem wrong – rather, it appeared justifiable and it would be saving the lives of many others. No, De Leon had to be stopped, one way or the other. And if Chelsea was the one to do it, so be it.

Part Three

Love touches the soul and awakens a desire so powerful that even the most vigilant heart is lured by its radiance.

~ Jamie Lynn Morris

Chapter Twenty

Sin is committable by thought, word or deed; so is virtue. ~ Martin H. Fischer

It was nearly six o’clock in the evening and Dean had come home early as promised. They were snuggled close to each other in bed after another session of lovemaking. Fitting herself into the curves of his body, she smiled contentedly. She had never felt happier and had no regrets about what they had shared. Cara was right. Finding the love of a good man was changing her life in a positive way. She felt as if a wonderful new chapter in her life was beginning.

“Don’t you think we ought to be getting dressed?”

“Do we have to go?” She wanted the moment to last forever.

“Yes. Remember, I’m taking you somewhere special tonight.”

She pulled his face toward her and kissed him. “Where are we going?”

“It will be a surprise.”

Kissing him once more, she said. “All right, I’ll start getting ready,”

“Good.”

He had almost panicked when she suggested that they stay home. That would ruin the plan. As she disappeared into the bathroom Dean got up quickly and pulled on a pair of jeans and a black tee-shirt. With trembling hands he reached into his brief case and pulled out a wash cloth and the bottle of chloroform. There was no turning back now. His mind was made up.

He doused the wash cloth with the chloroform as he heard Chelsea coming out of the bathroom. He held it behind his back as she came toward him.

“What is that strange smell?” She asked.

But her question remained unanswered as he grabbed her and placed the wash cloth against her nostril. She struggled briefly and he could see the shock and fear in her eyes before her body sagged against him. He gently laid her on the sofa.

It was quite a challenge to get her from the apartment to the car and without being seen. Once there, he placed her on the back seat and put a blanket over her. He then quickly got in and slipped the keys into the ignition. He knew where to take her – it had been his own hideout for years. No one would be able to find her, unless he told them. That would never happen because his lips were sealed.

Chapter Twenty-One

Even with Death standing in the shadows waiting for you, it is your decision to let him take you by the hand and lead you away, or you can fight and live another day. ~Patricia Detwiler

Pierce finally made the phone call regarding Jeanine Groves to the other station on the south side of town. The police chief was very cooperative and offered to get together some of his officers right away to start searching the buildings in the area. Pierce promised to drive over to join them.

As he got into the squad car, he called his wife. The phone rang several times before she answered, and he found himself starting to panic until she came on the line.

“Hey, sweetie,” she said. It was like music to his ears.

“How are you doing, Em?”

“I’m all right, but missing you. The girls are also fine and Rodger says hi. Is everything all right with you?”

“Yes.”

“Stop lying to me, Pierce. I know you’re just doing your job, but just remember that you have a family too.”

“I know that, Em. The three of you mean everything to me. Believe me that I’m all right. The moment I am finished with this case, we’ll take a long vacation. Why not start looking for somewhere we can go for a while?”

“I will think about that. Call me when you get home tonight.”

“I will, Em. I love you and give the girls a kiss for me.”

“I’ll do that and be safe.”

“Always.”

He hung up the phone to check on Chelsea to see how she was doing and to fill her in on what was going on. He knew she was working on a plan which included going underground for a while.

He called her, expecting a quick answer as usual, but none came. The phone rang several times before going into voice mail. He thought that odd, and decided to call Dean who answered on the third ring.

“I just tried to call Chelsea and she did not answer. Is she all right?”

“Yes, she is fine. I left her sleeping in the apartment, and I am just getting a few things from the grocery store.”

“Good. I just wanted to make sure she was all right. Thank you for taking care of her.”

“Of course.”

As Pierce continued driving, he could not shake the feeling that something was not right. He could not quite put his finger on it. Shortly afterwards, he arrived across town and his attention was taken up by the immediate task at hand.

Several police cars were already there and about a dozen officers were milling around, awaiting orders. Pierce recognized Lieutenant Perez immediately and went toward him. They exchanged greetings.

“My men are ready to fan out for the search. I just thought I would wait until you got here.”

“Thanks for waiting.”

Lieutenant Perez called his men together.

“We are going to break up into groups and search these buildings. You must be careful though. Some of them are in a poor condition and parts may cave in or fall down. We have only a few hours of daylight left, so be quick, yet thorough. If you find anything at all, just radio it in.”

The men dispersed and started the search. Pierce, gun in hand, headed for a building to the far left. He poked around outside, looking for any signs of freshly dug earth or of a struggle of any kind. Seeing none of these, he decided to enter through the broken door that was almost falling off its hinges.

As he stepped inside he heard the crunch of glass beneath his feet. The interior was a bit dark as the windows were blackened by dirt. He made out some old furniture and a few sleeping bags and some cooking and eating utensils. Apparently hobos used the place sometimes.

Cautiously, he climbed up the stairs. He could hear rats scurrying across the floor, but no human sounds. Arriving on the second floor, he looked into the different rooms that appeared to have once been offices. When he came to the last one he saw some dried blood marks on the floor.

It looked like whoever left the trail had attempted to crawl away from their attacker. With his gun cocked, he cautiously followed the trail which led him to another room with its door ajar. He paused for a moment, wondering if it was wise to go in. He looked around and listened closely. But he neither saw nor heard anything.

With every muscle tensed and prepared for anything, he entered the room. In the far corner, he saw something wrapped in a piece of tarpaulin. It was in the shape of a human body which he assumed could be Jeanine’s. Without hesitating, he immediately walked over to where it was to make sure.

But he did not make it. Suddenly the floor gave way beneath his feet and he found himself falling. He screamed as he fell and crashed onto the floor below. He felt as if every bone in his body was broken and the pain was excruciating. Then he blacked out.

He awoke to the wailing of sirens and the sound of voices around him. There was a terrible ache in his head and all over his body. He could not move and felt hands lifting him out of the rubble. He was placed on a stretcher and taken to a nearby ambulance.

He felt as if he was in a dense fog and could not clear his mind. His thoughts were in a jumble. He wanted to speak, and his lips moved but no words came. The voices of the EMT team were muffled and he could not quite make out what they were saying.

He remembered falling but little else. He attempted to raise himself up and felt the EMT push him back down. He was too weak to resist. The ambulance siren wailed and every move it made was painful for him.

Fear gripped him. His heart pounded in his chest and his breathing was shallow. Was he dying? He did not want to die. He could not die.

Images of his family flashed through his mind as he tried to cling to consciousness. There was so much left for him to do. He wanted to see his girls grow up. He wanted to grow old with his wife. He was fighting for his relationship with her. Love was a powerful thing, but darkness was trying to surround and suffocated him and it seemed to be winning. He tried to think, to talk, and to get up. But he found he could not do any of these things. He lost consciousness once more.